"Mmm... I love beds."
The first thought that passed through Isobel's mind was, 'Is he talking to himself? Or does he realize I'm awake?' Of course, the answer to the question hardly mattered when she felt him flop over onto his side and curl an arm over her waist; the bed shook with each of his wriggled movements as he moved towards her instead of pulling her backwards. He came to a rest not long after, and she cringed a little, biting back a smile, when she felt the curve of his chin resting in the slope of her neck. "I never want to sleep on the ground again."
Clearing her throat, she rolled her shoulders back until they were pressed flush against his chest. "Do I have to remind you that you were sleeping on a cot? A cot with a bedroll on it?" She could both feel and hear his chuckle, a quiet rumble against the skin behind her ear. "You were hardly sleeping on the ground."
"Yes, well, I was extraordinarily close."
"And you had a bed in Orzammar."
"Bhelen was only being ni-"
"And in Redcliffe."
Cailan grumbled before giving her earlobe a playful nip. "I was merely making an observation. There's no need to go and prove me wrong on purpose." Nuzzling right where he'd bitten moments before, he smiled, fingers splaying on her stomach. "Anyway, sleeping without you next to me is like sleeping on a pile of rocks, so your logic is worth little."
His heart hitched in his chest when he felt her hand curl around his wrist, holding his fingers as close to her as she could. "Well, I actually slept on the ground all those long months," she began, scooting over so she could turn onto her back. He pulled up the covers so she'd be able to maneuver without getting tangled, and she curled up on her side, cheek pressed into his bent arm. "And I have to admit, this is much preferable."
Her hand found his cheek, palm resting around the curve of his jaw. Green eyes narrowing a little, she focused on his mouth, the pad of her thumb dragging over the pink flesh as her smile widened. "I'm still not used to waking up here, but that isn't a complaint. Not at all."
"Mm, I should hope not," Cailan murmured his response, tilting his chin down far enough to give her thumb a small kiss. "That would make me feel absolutely terrible. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
When her hand moved from his face to his neck, he shut his eyes, his smile softening until there was hardly more than a small quirk in the very corner. He gave a quiet sound of acceptance that had her grinning nearly from ear to ear. She'd discovered rather quickly that the King had an incredibly sensitive neck. She wasn't normally the sort of woman who would take advantage of such information, but he was just too precious when he reacted like this.
Isobel wriggled downward until she could reach his throat with ease, rubbing her cheek against the warm flesh. "How did you sleep?"
"Like a babe, as always," he replied, his own hands setting to smoothing over the delicate ivory fabric of her nightdress. "I had the oddest dream, though. Oghren smacked me with a gauntlet and challenged me to a duel... because he believed I'd stolen his smallclothes."
He took a moment to collect himself when he felt her lips just beneath his jaw. "And... and you? How did you sleep?"
"Not well," she admitted, though she did so casually. The conversation was to end there, and that was clearly written in the lilt to her tone. He knew when to press her for answers and when to take a step back. More often that not, she was open to persuasion, but lately her dreams were bothering her, not surprising considering what she was still recovering from. "Do you have any plans today, or are you going to attempt to bribe me into a new set of armor again?"
"As of today, it's a week until..." The words caught in his throat. "I have a week until I will be needed. In the meantime, you'll have to deal with me, I'm afraid."
Isobel gave a quiet laugh. "Oh, no," she murmured, passing her lips up to his cheek, her hands resting themselves on his shoulders. As she moved, she placed a tiny kiss over every new inch of skin. "Whatever shall I do?"
"Well, first off, you start by giving me a kiss."
Her eyes moved up to his, brows tilting upwards in a mild form of surprise. "Oh, is that how it goes?"
"Don't question it," he smiled.
She found that it was best to listen to him, especially when he clearly knew so much about the topic at hand. Brushing strands of gold away from his forehead, Isobel brought herself up until her mouth was mere inches from his, taking that time to draw in a deep breath. He smelled faintly of both soap and cologne – something both woody and fresh. This smell was punctuated with that of the sheets and her. She could smell her own perfume, infinitely more feminine than the scent he wore, on him, and it made her smile.
Before she could recover, Cailan bridged the gap between their mouths, pressing his lips to hers. With an almost silent sigh, she felt herself melt closer to him, shifting until her chest was pressed against his, one arm sliding around his back. This kiss was wholly unlike those they shared before. There was no tongue, no teeth, no moans and no words; just lips.
When he pulled away, he shifted until he was lying on his back, and she was pulled with him, slipping a little at first due to the slinky fabric of her chemise. Giving a short squeal, she moved forward, careful not to rest on the long hair that fell over his shoulders.
They rested like that for a long while. Isobel remained half-lying across his chest, her face hovering above his, a curtain of dark red falling to one side, and he buried the crown of his head into the pillow beneath him, bright blue eyes glimmering in the bright morning light that filtered through the pale curtains. As she stared at him, her fingers smoothed over his features, wary at first with the knowledge that her hands were not as soft as they should have been. The contented expression that shifted his mouth into a small smile and brought the lids of his eyes downward, however, emboldened her until she allowed herself to comb her fingers up into his hair.
As she stroked her hands absently through the strands, keeping thoughts of what they'd been through together at bay was impossible. They'd seen so much, suffered so much. And yet, here she was. She could hold a sword again. She'd even strapped herself into her armor without being gripped by panic. She couldn't have recovered so quickly without him, without his constant encouragement. She knew that this was only the beginning, the first tall hill before a mountain range, but so long as he was here, the trek would not be so terrible.
She could hardly believe her current situation. After leaving Highever and plunging, headfirst, into a war she would've all too willingly avoided had she been given the chance, she was lying in the arms of the King, and this wasn't some idle fancy of hers after catching sight of him at the Landsmeet. This was real. She could feel his chest rising and falling just beneath hers. Every now and again, she could feel his pulse. The same blanket she slept beneath, so did he. They shared the same embrace, the same kiss.
"I love you."
The admission wasn't sweetly or softly spoken. From her lips, such a thing wouldn't have sounded right. What she gave him was a statement. Her voice was quiet, but filled with a solid strength that spoke volumes of how thoroughly she believed in what she she spoke.
His eyes opened slowly, his brows cinching together as if he hadn't heard her correctly. He took a moment before the wrinkles on his forehead smoothed away. She watched as his lips parted and then closed before parting again. When he finally spoke, his voice was distant, shrouded in disbelief. "You... you actually mean that, don't you?"
When she gave a decisive nod, he felt as if his heart stopped completely.
"Isobel, I..." No matter how quickly she steeled herself against whatever his reaction would be, the uncertainty in his voice tore her eyes away from his, instead focusing on the sprinkling of golden curls on his chest. Of course he would hesitate. What had she expected? For him to kiss her soundly and respond in kind? "I hardly deserve to hear such a thing, after all that's happened."
When she pulled her hands out of his hair, he felt as if she'd taken a piece of him with her, and the surprised expression on his face fell. She gathered them atop his chest, running absently over the dips and curves of each muscle. "There's no need to explain yourself," she murmured, her eyes lifting to his for a moment before they looked away again. "I felt you should know, and now that you do, we can... go on as usual." She brightened a little, though the effect was theatrical at best. "What are we to do next?"
"You're going to look at me," Cailan said, his voice oddly commanding. "You're going to look at me, and you're going to listen to what I have to say. So look at me." At that, her eyes lifted from his chest to meet his. The detached light that filled them almost caused him physical pain. "You caught me by surprise, that's all. That's... not what I was expecting. What you got was my knee jerk reaction." He paused, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth to give it a good chew as he thought over his next words. "I'm sorry; you didn't deserve that."
His hand moved from where his palm was rested against the small of her back to curl around her chin, his thumb moving along her bottom lip, just as she'd done earlier. "You were honest with me, so you deserve my honesty, as well." He took a deep breath, releasing it in a shaky sigh as a small smile unfurled in the corner of his mouth. "I love you, too, Iso. More than I even knew was possible."
The moment her green eyes widened, Cailan felt a warmth bloom in the very center of his chest. "And then after you've recovered from that surprise – though, really, it should be no surprise – you're going to give me another kiss. And then there's going to be snuggling."
"Sounds good to me," she replied, though the smile on her lips clearly hindered her speech. His index flicked at the thin line beside her mouth, deepened by her grin. Shutting her eyes, the smile pushing her cheeks upwards, she leaned forward. What was supposed to be a kiss ended with the two of them clicking teeth. Cailan grunted in surprise, and Isobel's eyes flew open, her smile stuttering as she stifled a laugh. "That was horrible. Do you call that a kiss, your Majesty?"
Shining blue eyes narrowed up at her. "Oh, I'll show you a kiss," he half-growled, though the sound was intertwined with laughter. Grabbing her by the waist, he flipped her over onto her back, quickly taking up position above her. He rested on his elbows, his face mere inches above hers. There was no lingering; instead, he dipped forward, snatching up her top lip between his teeth before giving it a gentle tug.
Isobel felt as if she'd melt right into the mattress as she felt his tongue drag along her lips, seeking entrance. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him down farther on top of her, reveling in the sensation of his hips pressing into hers, his weight resting against her from chest to toes.
Had she still cared for logic, her thoughts would have easily turned sour. They might not have much time left. That coupled with the fact that he was still married, that Anora was still considered the Queen, proved to be a rather large hurdle to deal with. Even so, things were just easier when she opted to wrap her arms around Cailan and forget about everything. She could focus on the sunlight filtering into the room and the feeling of his hair brushing against her face and his hands smoothing over her cheeks. She could focus on him. Focusing on him made everything seem less terrifying.
Focusing on him made everything seem brighter.
A/N: I'm going to be honest with you all. After all the negativity I've been receiving, I'm perfectly okay with ending this right here. I don't see the point in continuing if the story isn't being enjoyed, since that's what it's here for. So I felt you should all know that I'm more than willing to give Isobel and Cailan their happy ending, not even touch on the Siege and what happens afterward, and just leave it.
I've always been of the idea that "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." I am very willing to read over constructive criticism, but a three sentence paragraph of a PM or a review of even less doesn't help. And it sure as hell doing change anything. So if you think I'm getting my jollies by twisting character portrayals and making ridiculous moves just to get my darling princess hooked up with the king, please keep it to yourself.
I love this story. I've been writing it for over six months now. I don't want to end it so suddenly, but there's a strong possibility that it's going to happen. But, hey, at least everyone talking about how silly it is won't have to see it thrust in their face anymore, right? ;)